Recent rescue at the JRC: Paula

Paula, a common raven, was rescued near the Juneau International Airport on Dec. 1, 2012.

COURTESY OF THE JUNEAU RAPTOR CENTER

NAME: Paula.

TYPE OF BIRD: Common raven, Corvus corax.

WHEN RESCUED: Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012.

WHAT HAPPENED: One weekend in December a common raven was observed hopping around the fenced yards of a Juneau neighborhood near the airport. The bird was easily captured by Juneau Raptor Center volunteers in the soft snow.

INJURIES: An exam revealed no broken bones or other injuries, so she was held in the hopes of a speedy recovery.

CARE: Paula, as the bird came to be known, was very hungry and eagerly ate as soon as her caretaker placed food in her kennel. After several days of confinement, she moved to a small outdoor mew where she had more room and she was able to use her wings to flap to the highest perches. After a week there, she transferred to a large flight mew where she spent most of her time hiding in a hide box. Once access to the hide box was removed, she demonstrated that she could fly extremely well back and forth across the mew.

RELEASE: After just over two weeks of care, on Tuesday, Dec. 18, she was released near her capture site.

MORE ABOUT THE COMMON RAVEN: The voice of the common raven, according to Bob Armstrong’s “Birds of Alaska,” is often quite harsh, croaking “kraaak,” but it can also take on other intonations such as a hollow, knocking sound and melodious “kloo-klock,” usually heard in flight.

• Message phone for the Juneau Raptor Center, 586-8393; emergency pager, 790-5424; or for more information about the JRC, go online to juneauraptorcenter.org.